Friday, August 23, 2013

Women Power in Ancient Peru

The discovery in Peru of another tomb belonging to a pre-Hispanic priestess, the eighth in more than two decades, confirms that powerful women ruled this region 1,200 years ago, archeologists said.

The remains
of the woman were discovered in an area called La Libertad in Peru's
northern Chepan province; she belonged to a civilization called the
Moche (or Mochica). In 2006, researchers uncovered the Lady of Cao
in the same region.

Before then, it was thought that only
men held high positions in ancient Peru — but the luxury of the Lady of
Cao's funerary bundle made it clear that this ancient woman was hugely high-ranking and most likely considered nearly divine.

The priestess was in an "impressive 1,200-year-old burial chamber" the archeologist said, pointing out that the Mochica were known as master craftsmen.

"The burial chamber of the priestess is 'L'-shaped and made of clay, covered with copper plates in the form of waves and sea birds," Castillo said.

Near the neck is a mask and a knife, he added.

The tomb, decorated with pictures in red and yellow, also has ceramic offerings -- mostly small vases -- hidden in about 10 niches on the side.

The new
priestess tomb makes it clear that the Lady of Cao is far from an
anomaly. According to archaeological project director Luis Jaime
Castillo:

This find makes it clear that women didn't just run rituals in this
area but governed here and were queens of Mochica society... It is the
eighth priestess to be discovered. Our excavations have only turned up
tombs with women, never men.

According
to Castillo, the burial chamber was "impressive," even by Mochica
standards. The Mochica were known as master craftsmen, so that is
saying something. The priestess's burial chamber was covered in copper
plates in the forms of waves and seabirds, and a mask and a knife were
found near her neck. Her body is flanked with ceramic offerings, as
well as the bodies of seven human sacrifices (two babies, three
children, and two adults).